Staff writer Corey Mitchell covers English-language learners, bilingual education and civil rights issues for Education Week. Join him as he explores the educational, policy, and social issues surrounding ELLs in U.S. schools.

California Puts More Attention on Long-Term English-Language Learners

By Corey Mitchell on
December 18, 2014 4:00 PM

Nearly 75 percent of California's English-language learners in grades 6-12 have been in the state's schools for seven or more years and still fall short of enough fluency in English to succeed academically, a new report finds.

California public schools have about 1.4 million English-learners, nearly 25 percent of its K-12 enrollment.

The report from Californians Together comes as education leaders across California have turned their attention towards the hundreds of thousands of struggling students who have stalled in their progress towards English proficiency.

A 2010 study by the Californians Together determined that many students struggled to learn English because schools failed to monitor their progress, adequately train teachers, or provide appropriate curriculum.

"These 'long-term English-learners' get stuck at a very basic level of English skills, and fail to attain the levels of English proficiency needed to participate and succeed academically in school," said researcher Laurie Olsen, a member of Californians Together's executive board.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the new focus on long-term English learners comes amid a "shift in California's long-running language wars" as more educators rebel against Proposition 227, a late 1990s initiative that impeded bilingual education.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state in 2013 for allegedly failing to provide legally required services for students learning English. Of late, the ACLU is just one of several organizations to turn its attention toward long-term English learners.

This summer, a Latino civil rights organization filed a lawsuit against two Texas school districts, alleging that the state didn't provide adequate instructional programs for long-term English-language learners and other ELLs.

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